Banca d'Italia
Encyclopedia
Banca d'Italia is the central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

 of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and part of the European System of Central Banks
European System of Central Banks
The European System of Central Banks is composed of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of all 27 European Union Member States.-Functions:...

. It is located in Palazzo Koch, Roma
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, via Nazionale
Via Nazionale (Rome)
Via Nazionale is a street in Rome from Piazza della Repubblica leading towards Piazza Venezia.Already begun as via Pia, named in honour of Pius IX, who had wanted to connect Stazione Termini to the city-centre, the street was completed at the end of the 19th century through the ambition of several...

. The bank's current governor is Ignazio Visco
Ignazio Visco
Ignazio Visco is an Italian economist and the current Governor of the Banca d'Italia- Life and career :Visco was born in Naples on 21 November 1949...

, who took the office on 1 November 2011.

Functions

After the charge of monetary and exchange rate policies was shifted in 1998 to the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...

, within the European institutional framework, the bank implements the decisions, issues euro banknotes and withdraws and destroys worn pieces.

The main function has thus become banking and financial supervision. The objective is to ensure the stability and efficiency of the system and compliance to rules and regulations; the bank pursues it through secondary legislation, controls and cooperation with governmental authorities.

Following reform in 2005, which was prompted by takeover scandals, the bank has lost exclusive antitrust authority in the credit sector, which is now shared with Italy's Antitrust Authority
Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato
The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato , know also with the acronym AGCM, is an Italian quasi non-governmental organisation established on the basis of Law no...

.

Other functions include, market supervision, oversight of the payment system and provision of settlement services, State treasury service, Central Credit Register, economic analysis and institutional consultancy.

Bank of Italy gold reserves
Official gold reserves
A gold reserve is the gold held by a central bank or nation intended as a store of value and as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders , or trading peers, or to secure a currency....

 are 2,451.8 tonnes (2006).

History

The institution, also called Bankitalia, was founded in 1893, from the fusion of the four major banks in Italy. Until 1928 it was directed by a General Manager, while since then it is directed by a Governor. The Governor is elected by the internal commission of managers, with a decree from the President of the Italian Republic
President of the Italian Republic
The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....

 for a term of 7 years.

General Managers (1893–1928)

  • Giacomo Grillo (1893–1894)
  • Giuseppe Marchiori (1894–1900)
  • Bonaldo Stringher (1900–1928)

Governors (1928–present)

  • Bonaldo Stringher (1928–1930)
  • Vincenzo Azzolini (1931–1944)
  • Luigi Einaudi
    Luigi Einaudi
    Luigi Einaudi , Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorato di Gran Cordone OMRI was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the second President of the Italian Republic between 1948 and 1955.-Early life:...

     (1945–1948)
  • Donato Menichella (1948–1960)
  • Guido Carli (1960–1975)
  • Paolo Baffi (1975–1979)
  • Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
    Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
    dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006...

     (1979–1993)
  • Antonio Fazio
    Antonio Fazio
    Antonio Fazio is an Italian banker, who was the Governor of Banca d'Italia from 1993 until his resignation amidst controversy at the end of 2005....

     (1993–2005)
  • Mario Draghi
    Mario Draghi
    Mario Draghi is an Italian banker and economist who succeeded Jean-Claude Trichet as President of the European Central Bank on 1 November 2011...

     (2006–2011)
  • Ignazio Visco
    Ignazio Visco
    Ignazio Visco is an Italian economist and the current Governor of the Banca d'Italia- Life and career :Visco was born in Naples on 21 November 1949...

     (2011–present)

Governing Bodies

The Bank's governing bodies are the General Meeting of Shareholders
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...

, the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

, the Governor, the Director General and three Deputy Directors General; the last five constitute the Directorate.

The general meeting takes place yearly and with the purpose of approving accounts and appointing the auditors. The Board of Directors has administrative powers and is chaired by the governor (or by the Director General in his absence). Following reform in 2005, the governor lost exclusive responsibility regarding decisions of external relevance (i.e. banking and financial supervision), which has been transferred to the Directorate (by majority vote). The Director General is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the bank, and acts as governor when absent.

The Board of Auditors assesses the bank's administration and compliance with the law, regulations and the statute.

Appointment

The Directorate's term of office
Term of office
Term of office or term in office refers to the length of time a person serves in a particular office.-Prime Minister:In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister has no term limits...

 lasts six years and is renewable once. The appointment of the governor is the responsibility of the government, head of the Board of Directors, with the approval of the President of the Republic (formally a decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...

 of the President). The Board of Directors is elected by the shareholders according to the bank statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...

.

2011 designation of new governor

On 25th October Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...

 has decided to name Ignazio Visco
Ignazio Visco
Ignazio Visco is an Italian economist and the current Governor of the Banca d'Italia- Life and career :Visco was born in Naples on 21 November 1949...

 as new governor of the bank replacing Mario Draghi.

See also

  • European System of Central Banks
  • Economy of Italy
    Economy of Italy
    Italy has a diversified industrial economy with high gross domestic product per capita and developed infrastructure. According to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the CIA World Factbook, in 2010 Italy was the seventh-largest economy in the world and the third-largest in Europe...

  • Euro
    Euro
    The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

  • Italian lira
    Italian lira
    The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...


External links

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